Eternal Joy
by SCSTheWriter
Summary: Spike feels alone in the world without his six best friends. However, one day, a miracle reaches him through his grief.


Eternal Joy

By: SCSTheWriter

Disclaimers:

This fanfiction is intended for the older audience of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and is unsuitable for the young children who also enjoy that wonderful show. This is rated T (ages 13+) for emotional content.

I am not trying to preach religion to anyone. Any spiritual themes found here are simply on my mind. I don't really affiliate myself with any religion, but I'm not an atheist either. Again, this fanfiction isn't intended to preach to anyone.

This is my first fanfiction, so it may not be very good.

All rights to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, its characters, and all related copyrighted material belong to Hasbro, along with all other copyright holders. I do not claim any of their work as my own, and I will be receiving no money whatsoever from this fanfiction.

It was a cool, windy autumn evening in the Everfree Forest. The sun slowly descended behind the distant treetops. A lone dragon stood there, tears falling on the quiet forest floor below. His grief was reflected by the melancholic song of the ancient woods, meandering slowly through the air.

"How can such great love come to an end?" he asked the air, not receiving a response other than a continuation of its dirge. He walked forwards, easily pushing aside any foliage in his way as he approached a moonlit plain. He stepped into it, gazing at the star-filled sky above. Ahead lay a beautiful fountain, six graves resting on its circumference. But, oh, they were not merely graves. Above each one stood a statue of each of his friends, so lifelike it was as if they were really standing there, smiling, laughing, just like old times.

Spike was an adult dragon now, so he approached this area cautiously, not wanting to break any of it. He mournfully walked a slow circle around the graves, pausing at each one to read its accompanying tribute.

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

Here rests Twilight Sparkle, her likeness engraved in eternity beneath

the stars she once dreamed of. She was one of the most talented

unicorns to ever set foot in Equestria; at times, her magic even rivaled that of

Princess Celestia's. However, that which far outshined her magical abilities

was her friendship. She held such great love in her heart for everypony,

and was always there for her friends when they needed her.

Now, she no longer needs to dream of the stars;

she and her friends soar with them now.

PINKIE PIE

Here rests Pinkie Pie, the most cheerful pony anyone could ever imagine.

A smile always shone on her face, warming the hearts

of those around her. She threw enough parties

that, if each were assigned to a resident of Equestria,

there would be enough for everyone to have five.

Not all days are happy, but Pinkie Pie was always there

to turn a frown upside down. She loved to make her friends

smile, smile, smile. Her love for everypony lives on today,

and for evermore.

RARITY

Here rests Rarity, whose generosity outshines the brightest star.

To her, going out of her way to make her friends happy simply

came naturally. Her dresses were the most beautiful in all the land,

and she never backed away from an opportunity to design them for

her friends. Upon entering her marvelous boutique, you would probably

see her happily working on her latest design. If not, she was probably

out at the spa spending time with her dear friend Fluttershy. Though

she is not with us any longer, her spirit of generosity lives on in all of us.

FLUTTERSHY

Here rests Fluttershy, a pony with a heart bigger than Equestria itself.

Nowhere else could you ever find a kinder, more loving pony

than in her humble home in the forest. She loved everyone,

having compassion for everyone from the smallest animal to the most fearsome

dragon. Her love shines brightly in the universe for eternity,

shining brighter than the stars themselves. No one will ever

forget her kindness. We have all been inspired by her

to cease any quarrels we have, and love

one another.

RAINBOW DASH

Here rests Rainbow Dash, a flyer whose bravery and skill earned her

Equestria-wide fame. Yet, even more impressive than

her phenomenal flying, was her loyalty. She never abandoned

her friends, no matter what happened. She was there for Fluttershy

when Twilight Sparkle passed away, never leaving her side

until she was comforted. She was there for Princess Celestia

when Canterlot was attacked by those who did not favor

a life of love, light, and peace. She will always be here,

her love in all of our hearts for eternity.

APPLEJACK

Here rests Applejack, the most honest and dependable pony

in Equestria. If you had a problem, you could always turn

to her for help. You could always depend on her and her family

at Sweet Apple Acres to harvest delicious apples

to bake enough apple pie to last Ponyville for months.

We will all remember her love every time we gaze

at a beautiful apple tree swaying in an autumn breeze.

At this point, Spike was crying uncontrollably. He laid his head upon the earth, his tears forming a small pool around him. The sound of his tears rang out in harmony with the sound of the everlasting fountain, drowning his senses in a sea of watery grief. He lay there, allowing the water to block out the sounds of the outside world he so feared, a world without his friends. He knew they had lived long, happy lives; but that did not make him any less sad to see them gone.

Suddenly, a crashing sound like that of nearby lightning slammed Spike, causing him to jump up swiftly in fright. He was blinded by a white light, which disappeared after a few moments. As his eyes readjusted, he could not believe what was coming into focus before him.

"Hello, Spike!" Twilight Sparkle grinned. She looked much younger, just like she did when Spike was a baby.

"Um... hi there" Fluttershy said nervously, but with a warm smile. The others followed with similar sentiments, all of them looking like they did when Spike was a baby.

"...Wha...how? You guys are de...I mean, I thought...the graves, they're right there..."

Twilight Sparkle held up a hoof to silence him. "Yes, Spike, we are dead."

Spike, still incredulous, simply stared.

"We have come to give you a message", Fluttershy added.

"Where did you guys come from?" he asked.

"We cannot stay long, there is no time to explain", Twilight Sparkle emphasized.

"We were informed of how grieved you are because of our deaths", Fluttershy began.

"That made us all terribly sad, especially because we forgot to tell you about The Friendship Box before we passed away."

"'The Friendship Box?'" Spike was bewildered.

"Yes", Fluttershy continued. "We all have to die someday, but that is just a natural part of life. No one is separated from each other permanently. We all love the times we spent together with you, Spike-those times will never be forgotten. It is our time to move on, but you must remain and finish your life here. We will be waiting for you, my dear friend. In the meantime, I think you will love The Friendship Box. Look underneath the bridge in front of my former home-there should be a small door there. Say "friendship is eternal", and it will open."

"Thank you, Fluttershy", Spike said sincerely, "thank you all."

Twilight Sparkle smiled. "It is time for us to go now, Spike. We will see you again someday."

Spike frowned. "I wish I could go with you guys. I just miss you all so much..."

"We miss you too", Rainbow Dash replied. "But the ponies here need you. Your time will come, we will never be apart forever."

Tears of joy rolled down Spike's cheeks. His friends smiled at him, laughing with joy. They slowly faded away into light, which calmly disappeared until he was left staring once again at the graves. He thought he could still hear happy laughter in the distance.

Spike walked slowly back towards town. This was an amazing encounter that he planned to share with everypony. However, he decided to save that endeavor, as well as The Friendship Box, for the morning.

Spike woke up in the morning, stretching his limbs and wings languidly before getting up. The first thing that came to his mind was Fluttershy's instructions as to how to find The Friendship Box. He quickly flew out of his cave out into the cool, crisp morning air, and headed straight for where Fluttershy used to live.

He stood underneath the bridge in front of her former house, and said "friendship is eternal". Just as Fluttershy said it would, the door to The Friendship Box opened. He looked inside, and began crying tears of joy once again. Inside were items worth more to him than an infinite ocean of jewels: diaries, photo albums, and other things that had belonged to his friends over the years. Pinkie Pie's favorite party hat was in there, as well as Twilight's favorite book, Fluttershy's favorite leaf, a newspaper clipping of Rainbow Dash winning the award for Best Flyer of Equestria, Applejack's hat, and Rarity's favorite dress. Spike, using a little bit of magic that Twilight taught him a long time ago, was able to open and flip through the pages of the diaries and photo albums. He laughed heartily when reliving bygone memories, and cried sincerely when reliving past sadness. When he had finished, he brought all of The Friendship Box's contents with him to his cave; later he would see they had a proper home where all ponies could see them. He smiled contentedly, now knowing that his friends were still out there, somewhere. No goodbye is eternal.

.


End file.
